For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 69

Kevenriak left the Separate Palace and returned to his chambers in the Emperor’s Palace shortly after.
Beyond the window, the sun was setting, yet his room remained shrouded in a silence as though darkness itself had taken root.
Two years since I confined myself.
And still, the vast chasm carved into my chest only deepened, never to be filled.

“….”

Kevenriak sat upon the floor and withdrew a letter from his breast.
He held it to the light of a flame conjured by his magic, illuminating the words.

「To my dearest Kevenriak」

‘Master.’

It couldn’t possibly be from you who sent this letter to my chamber.
And yet, knowing this truth, a foolish hope takes root nonetheless.
Raina Hart was always someone who exceeded all expectations.
But this was a seed that should be uprooted and burned entirely.
Hope transforms into longing, and longing transforms into yearning.
I must never allow myself to feel such emotions.

‘That very feeling is what killed Raina Hart.’

Every emotion I feel inevitably summons her memory.
Happiness, joy, delight….
I discarded each one.
In discarding them, all that remained was emptiness. A void of absolute nothingness.

‘What does Raina Hart’s handwriting matter?’
‘Someone merely found a letter she wrote before her death.’

Yes. Logically speaking, that was the correct conclusion.
The letter of fortune that Raina Hart used to write for me long ago.
Someone must have found it by chance somewhere—whether in Hibei or the Imperial Palace—and slipped it under my door to shake me.
It couldn’t possibly be my teacher.
Kevenriak extinguished the flame and tucked the letter back into his chest.

‘Take your revenge, Kevenriak.’

I reminded myself what would fill the void.
Vengeance against those who made Raina Hart suffer. Vengeance that would ultimately turn its blade toward me.

Knock. Knock.
Then the sound of knocking on the door pulled me from my thoughts.

“Who is it.”

The Emperor’s flat voice questioned the identity beyond the door.
Instead of an answer, a single sheet of paper slipped through the gap beneath the door.

“….”

Surely not.
My azure eyes trembled finely, like ripples disturbing still water.
The dark beast that had been crouching slowly pressed against the floor.
No, I had already concluded it couldn’t be.
But my body moved faster than my mind could reason.
Kevenriak rushed forward and seized the paper.

The room was dark.
Something appeared to be written on the paper in my hands, but the letters were swallowed by shadow and invisible.
Whoosh.
The Emperor summoned flame once more, and it flickered to illuminate the words.

「Hello.」

I couldn’t believe it.
Raina Hart’s handwriting.

“…Master?”
“….”

My cautious call received no answer.
The Emperor’s wavering gaze fixed on the gap beneath the door.
Light filtered through the narrow opening, casting a flickering shadow.
The gap was too narrow to discern the figure’s shape—just a short silhouette—but I could tell someone was there.
The emotions I had desperately suppressed surged violently. My heart raced.
The person—or perhaps the ghost—at the door might be Raina Hart.
Kevenriak’s hand grasped the door handle.

‘What if a liar stands beyond this door?’
‘Do not spare those who mimic Raina Hart.’

The voice in my mind echoed, commanding me to show no mercy to deceivers.
If the one beyond this door was not my Master but someone else—
Just as I was about to release the handle.
The voices in my mind vanished in an instant.
A new sheet of paper slipped through the gap beneath the door.

「You cannot come outside. If we meet face to face, I will disappear.」

“Master.”

Kevenriak murmured.
Every single character of the lengthy message was unmistakably Raina Hart’s handwriting.

“…Have you come as a ghost?”

Yet despite Kevenriak’s trembling call, the space beyond the door remained silent.
Does my voice no longer reach you?
Because we now inhabit different worlds.

Rustle.
The sound of paper being turned reached the Emperor’s ear just as despair threatened to consume him.
Then I understood.
My approach had been wrong. There was another way to communicate with my Master’s ghost besides my voice.

“R-Raina Hart. Wait a moment. Please wait just a moment…!”

He rushed to the desk. He needed to find a pen.
It was a room that had been shrouded in darkness for two years.
He had no way of knowing where writing instruments he’d never used were located.
Blue eyes swept across the desk, relying on summoned flames, urgency evident in their gaze.
Rummaging through drawers to converse with his master’s ghost still seemed like madness,
yet he didn’t appear like someone who had lost all vitality.

‘Found it.’

He discovered a pen rolling inside the drawer.
Kevenriak quickly seized the pen and rushed back to the door, sitting down on the floor.

“Raina Hart, I’ve brought a pen too.”
“….”

Right, Raina Hart couldn’t hear me.
Kevenriak hastily moved the pen across the paper on the floor.
He extinguished the flames lest they burn the writing instrument. Pitch darkness returned.
The room was so dim that the writing was invisible, so he turned on the room’s light.

Flicker. Flicker.
The light, operating for the first time in two years, flickered slowly twice as if unaccustomed to working, then illuminated the room brightly.
The Emperor was bathed in light.

***

「Your Majesty, have you eaten?」
「Not yet. What about you, Raina Hart?」
「I haven’t either. I prefer warm food in the evening. How about meat stew for dinner? Please make sure to eat properly.」
「Yes. I’ll have the meat stew. You must eat properly too, Raina Hart.」

A sheet of paper passed back and forth through the gap beneath the Emperor’s door.
Raina Hart sat in the corridor, busy responding to the papers that came through.
In this long-awaited conversation with Kevenriak, Raina Hart’s face never lost its smile.
The same was true for Kevenriak beyond the door.

「Master, have you returned?」
“….”
「I’m sorry. I cannot answer questions related to the past.」

Whenever I tried to write down information directly connected to Raina Hart, my hand would stiffen due to the oath.
Kevenriak, perhaps concerned that Raina Hart’s spirit would depart, continued matching her with ordinary conversation.

‘It feels like we’ve returned to how things used to be.’

Mundane dialogue that excluded any information about Raina Hart.
Though the conversation lacked substance, there was something warm about it.

“Do you have any foods you won’t eat?”
“No. I eat my vegetables well too.”

A lie.
When I received breakfast this morning, I recalled what Person had said.

“This is the diet His Majesty typically consumes.”

I hadn’t even glimpsed a vegetable.
Laughter threatened to burst forth, but I had to hold it back.
I covered my mouth with one hand and moved my pen.

“I’ll believe you then.”
“I’m telling the truth, Master.”
“Do you sleep well at night?”
“Yes.”

Another lie.
It was just the other day that he took a stuffed doll away, saying he’d have nightmares.

“I will become a great mage…”

A hint of bitterness crossed my face as I recalled the cotton doll in the cage.
The movement of my pen slowed. My hand hesitated, uncertain how to respond.
As my reaction faltered, Kevenriak’s heart sank.
Raina Hart had always known everything—except for the affection he harbored for her.
In any case, she had now noticed that his answer was not the truth.

‘Liar.’

Raina Hart might leave disappointed in me.
The Emperor hastily wrote his response on fresh paper.

“Master, I’ve taken on a disciple.”

Among the truths he could share, this was the only news worth celebrating in two years.
Raina Hart’s reply came swiftly.

“Truly? What sort of disciple?”
“An unusual one.”
“….”

Unusual?
Hearing the Emperor’s assessment of Vivian for the first time, Raina Hart felt an unexpected surge of pride.

“Unusual? Not beautiful, then?”
“No. You are far more beautiful, Master.”
“Is she kind-hearted? She seems like an intelligent person.”
“No. You are far kinder, Master.”
“…?”

Something felt off.
I had begun this barrage of questions hoping to extract even a single compliment from Kevenriak.
Instead, I found myself competing against my former self.
Rather than cling to meaningless pride, I shifted to another topic.

‘Perhaps I should ask Keri to release the oath he placed on Vivian Asperada.’

Selective information was different from complete silence, where nothing could be conveyed at all.

‘I’m not certain Keri has fully regained his senses yet… but if I broach it now while the mood is favorable, it might help.’

After deliberating, I wrote a new question in my turn.

“Did you place an oath on Vivian Asperada?”
“….”

For the first time, I mentioned Vivian.
With a slight tremor in my chest, I gazed beyond the door.
Through the gap, the light from inside the room shone brighter than the corridor’s illumination.
Kevenriak seemed to be contemplating how to answer my question.
Finally, around the time I heard the scratching sound of a pen from within.

Tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed from beyond the corner of the corridor.

‘Oh, no.’

Someone was coming.
It would be problematic if it became known that Vivian Asperada was sitting outside the Emperor’s chambers.
I hastily wrote a new message on another piece of paper and slipped it through the gap.

「I’ll leave for today.」

***

I returned to my room.
Having completed today’s planned tasks, I intended to think more about the sachet.

‘Simona Asperada. In the original work, she was a minor character.’

She primarily appeared as a confidante to Duke Asperada or as someone who comforted Vivian.
During that month at Asperada Duke’s Castle.
Simona, whom I experienced through Vivian’s body, was no different.

‘Obedient to the Duke and kind to her stepdaughter. But ultimately, she moves according to the Duke’s wishes… Wait, according to his wishes?’

I furrowed my brow.
Duke Asperada had an unexpected character trait—he was a devoted husband.
While he was willing to exploit his daughter politically, he was terrible toward his wife. He granted her every wish.

‘Is there some important setting related to the original work regarding Duke and Duchess Asperada?’

Hmm.
My frown deepened further.
A knock sounded at the door.

“Yes. Come in.”

It had to be either Person or one of the maids.
Those were the only people who would seek out her chambers.
But.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the person who had entered through the door.

‘Keri.’

Beneath lustrous black hair, blue eyes gazed at me with a smile.
It was the smile he showed only to his master.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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